Oman allocates USD208m for low-cost housing projects 

(MENAFN) Oman government allocated USD207.7 million annually for affordable housing projects to tackle the Gulf state's low-cost housing shortage, Arabian Business reported.

Saif bin Amir bin Sulaiman Al Shaqsi, the undersecretary at the Ministry of Housing, said that the government gave USD153.6 million to 3,174 people through housing assistance programmes and approved 400 interest-free affordable housing loans totaling USD17.92 million during 2011and the first quarter of 2012.

Oman's Housing Assistance Programme targets families whose monthly income is less than USD768, while its Housing Loan Programme provides interest-free loans not exceeding USD51,202 for Omani families.

Several Gulf states have pledged to ramp up spending on housing in the wake of the Arab Spring revolutions, in a bid to secure quality housing for their growing populations.